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Promise of tax cuts and making up with China all in a day’s work for Trump

One of the big stories from the White House on Thursday was the US president’s pledge to cut the tax burden on businesses, which helped lift global stock markets

10 February 2017 - 08:47
Agency Staff

US president Donald Trump and his wife, Melania. Picture: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST

Washington — One of the big stories from the White House on Thursday was President Donald Trump’s promise to cut the tax burden on businesses, which helped lift global stock markets in early trade on Friday.

Here are the main events in the Trump administration:

Taxes

Trump plans to announce the most ambitious tax reform plan since the Reagan era in the next few weeks, the White House says; the dollar and stocks rise after the announcement, despite signals from congress that the timeline for tax reform is slipping.

China

Trump agrees to honour the US "One China" policy during a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as he takes steps to improve ties after angering Beijing by talking to Taiwan’s leader. A White House statement said the two leaders had a lengthy phone conversation and discussed numerous topics.

Immigration

A US federal appeals court in San Francisco unanimously upholds a temporary suspension of Trump’s order that restricted travel from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Russia and Nato

Nine senators from his own Republican party urge Trump to take a "tough-minded" approach to Russia, joining a growing chorus of legislators addressing concerns that he might be too conciliatory towards Moscow.

In his first call as president with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Trump denounced a treaty that caps US and Russian deployment of nuclear warheads as a bad deal for the US, sources say. Considering his comments about Russia, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) allies are looking for signs that Trump will stick with the US commitment to the alliance made by the Obama administration.

Trump meets airline executives and then laments what he called an out-of-date US air traffic control system while criticising current modernisation efforts as the "wrong system" and too expensive.

Security

A dozen Democratic senators urge the Trump administration to reconsider overhauling and renaming a US government programme so it would focus solely on countering Islamist extremism, saying it could jeopardise security and may be illegal. Stephen Feinberg, CE of private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management who backed Trump’s election campaign, is being considered to lead a review of the vast US intelligence operation and whether it can be restructured, current and former officials tell Reuters.

Nordstrom

Senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway draws sharp criticism from a top Republican legislator and complaints over the ethics of using her position to urge Americans to buy product lines of Trump’s daughter Ivanka, a day after Trump attacked Nordstrom for dropping them.

Crime

Trump uses the swearing-in ceremony of Attorney-General Jeff Sessions to sign three executive orders, including ones targeting transnational drug cartels and those who commit crimes against law enforcement.

Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will propose new cabinet-level US-Japan talks on trade, security and macroeconomic issues, including currencies, when he meets Trump on Friday in Washington, a Japanese government official says.

Afghanistan

Trump and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani discussed opportunities to strengthen ties, security, counter-terrorism co-operation and economic development during a telephone call on Thursday, the White House says in a statement.